Singer insulted

Gottschalk quits after furor over Maite Kelly

Thomas Gottschalk received a lot of backlash for a nasty remark about Maite Kelly and is now drawing the consequences.

(Bild: APA Pool/Jens Kalaene)

A nasty comment by Thomas Gottschalk about Maite Kelly has just caused quite a stir. Now the presenter is taking the consequences - and is ending his podcast "Die Supernasen".

In the latest episode, Thomas Gottschalk and Mike Krüger chatted about "Das Adventfest der 100.000 Lichter" with Florian Silbereisen, in which the former "Wetten, dass...?" presenter will also be taking part. Maite Kelly was also mentioned in the course of this.

"I'll probably have to push Maite Kelly to one side so that people can see me," joked Gottschalk. But that didn't go down well at all. Because it seems that the 74-year-old was alluding to the female curves of the pop singer, who incidentally will not be performing on the show.

"People like that only deserve my pity"
But what does Maite Kelly say to this - after all, the joke was at her expense? "Even as a child, I was smart enough to know that people who resort to such platitudes only deserve my pity. That's why they never got my respect back then," she responded to the Gottschalk diss when asked by the "Bild" newspaper. 

Maite Kelly only has "pity" for the entertainer after Thomas Gottschalk's inappropriate gag.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Panama Pictures / Action Press)

She was not hurt by Gottschalk's statement. She had learned "enough self-love" from her father "that jokes at the expense of my figure have been the least itchy thing in my life. But not every girl is lucky enough to have a dad like that. That's why such degrading sentences, actions or gestures are unacceptable. And as adults, we have a duty to protect our children, brothers and sisters from this."

Gottschalk puts an end to "super noses"
However, the pop singer's fans were less relaxed about the Gottschalk gag than Kelly herself. A veritable shitstorm broke out over Gottschalk. He has now rowed back, explaining to "Bild": "It was undoubtedly a gag that was at Maite's expense. But she is aware of the fact that a gag is always at someone's expense."

He continues: "I think I've made enough of them on my own to be able to afford, at my age, not to let Maite off scot-free. She's old enough to have heard the saying: 'What loves each other, teases each other'." 

Although an apology looks different, the entertainer has now drawn the consequences of the furor surrounding his remark. As Gottschalk explained to Bild, he and Krüger had agreed that their podcast after next would be their last - to avoid further shitstorms. Because they are tired of being misunderstood again and again. In the end, many people were only interested in trying to twist their words into a rope.

RTL has now also confirmed the end of "Supernasen" to the German Press Agency. Until the end of the Krüger-Gottschalk podcast, which first went on air on RTL+ in April 2023, there will be two more episodes - on December 17 and 31.